News Headlines:

Sharma, Raina shine as India clinch ODI series against England

23 Jan 2013, 2010 hrs IST
, AGENCIES

A
rejuvenated India clinched the one-day series against England as the hosts rode
on the batting heroics of Rohit Sharma (83) and Suresh Raina (89 not out) to
fashion a comfortable five-wicket victory in the penultimate game and take an
unassailable 3-1 lead in Mohali
today.
The Indians first restricted the
visitors to 257 for seven and then overcame some anxious moments before
overhauling the target with 15 balls to spare in a floodlit contest played in
cold conditions at the PCA stadium.
Though the hosts had the game in
control after putting England into bat, they conceded as many as 100 runs in the
last ten overs with unheralded Joe Root (57 not out off 45 balls) and Kevin
Pietersen (76) providing the late sparks with some lusty
hits.
Captain Alastair Cook was another
notable performer with a knock of
76.
But the Indians held their nerve
during the run chase and it was ultimately Raina who guided the team
home.
It was a creditable series victory
for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men who had come under fire for indifferent
performances in recent times, which saw the team lose a Test series to England
and an ODI series defeat against arch rivals Pakistan at
home.
It was Rohit Sharma, rated as highly
talented but one who has seldom delivered, who turned the spotlight on himself
as he grabbed with both hands an unexpected opportunity to feature in the
playing eleven as an opener in place of Ajinkya
Rahane.
Sharma proved his class with some
delightful shots to lay the foundation for the chase and his show will enhance
his chances of cementing a place in the ODI
team.
Ravindra Jadeja hit the winning runs
by taking three off Jade Dernbach to trigger off scenes of wild celebrations in
the galleries and the Indian dressing room where the players hugged each
other.

The two teams will now
move to the picturesque town of Dharamsala for the last and final match on
Sunday, though it has now been rendered
inconsequential.
India lost opener Gautam Gambhir
early but the left-hander, who has been out of form for quite a while, was
distinctly unlucky to have been adjudged caught behind by umpire Steve Davis as
replays suggested that there was no
edge.
Gambhir tried to poke at an
outside-the-offstump delivery off Tim Bresnan and the English fielders appealed
for a caught behind which was upheld by the umpire. Gambhir was shocked and was
seen shaking his head while walking to the
pavilion.
The hosts could have been in more
trouble had Pietersen not spilled a difficult catch of Sharma when he was on 12,
with Bresnan being the bowler.
Sharma and Virat Kohli steadied the
innings with a 52-run partnership for the second before James Tredwell struck
for his team in his very first over by evicting Kohli for
26.
It was a tossed up delivery and
Kohli drove it straight to the bowler for a simple return
catch.
Local hero Yuvraj, who joined the
action after Kohli's dismissal, did not survive long as he fell prey to
Tredwell, who trapped him leg before as he went for a pre-meditated sweep
shot.
Sharma notched up his 13th ODI half
century and celebrated the moment by spanking Tredwell for a six and a four off
consecutive deliveries.
Sharma, who came into the team in
place of an out-of-form Rahane, found an able ally in Raina who scored at a
brisk race to put the pressure back on the visitors. The pair scored 50 runs off
just 37 balls.
Just when they seemed to be going
great guns, Steve Finn provided the breakthrough by sending back Sharma with a
ball that dipped in sharply, trapping the batsman leg before wicket. Sharma's 83
came off 93 balls and contained 11 boundaries and a six.

Raina was lucky to get a
reprieve when he was caught by Cook in the slip but Davis signalled a dead ball
as the bowler Finn had knocked the stumps over on his delivery stride, much to
the relief of a near-capacity crowd.
Earlier, put into bat, England lost
three wickets in quick succession in the middle of the innings after a
reasonably good start, but the young Root unleashed a stunning counter attack to
steer the total past the 250 mark, which looked doubtful at one
stage.
Root, who clobbered eight boundaries
and a six during his 45-ball blitzkrieg, and Pietersen were largely responsible
for England's recovery.
Spinner Ravindra Jadeja was the pick
of the Indian bowlers with 3/39 while Ishant Sharma 2/47 and R Ashwin 2/63 were
the other wicket takers.
England's opening pair put on 37
runs for the first wicket before Ishant provided the breakthrough by evicting
Bell, who perished to a rash stroke.
Bell decided to step out against
Ishant but could not get to the pitch of the ball and Kumar pulled off a
brilliant diving catch at the third man
region.
Pietersen, who joined the action
after Bell's dismissal, started off watchfully and took some time to get off the
mark.
The experienced duo of Cook and
Pietersen kept the scoreboard moving with gentle nudges and pushes and did not
take too many risks as they steered England past
100.
The duo stitched 95 runs for the
second wicket before off spinner Ashwin came to the hosts' rescue by dismissing
Cook in what appeared to be a dubious decision by Sudhir
Asnani.
Cook was wrapped on the pad while
trying to play forward but the ball appeared to have pitched outside the leg
stump line. Cook slammed 13 boundaries during his knock which came off 106
balls.
The departure of Cook triggered off
a collapse of sorts as Eoin Morgan (3) and Samit Patel (1) perished in quick
succession as England slipped from a comfortable 132 for one to 142 for four.

The visitors could have
suffered another jolt on the same score but Kohli dropped a catch at first slip
off Root when he had not even opened his account with Ishant being the unlucky
bowler.
Morgan was out when Yuvraj took a
well-judged catch as he attempted to chip the ball over mid-on off
Ashwin.
Left-arm spinner Jadeja, who was
India's bowling hero in the last two matches, then got into the act by
accounting for Patel who offered a simple return
catch.
Pietersen and the young Root ensured
that there were further setback as both played with a positive frame of mind and
counter-attacked the Indian bowlers.
Root was the more aggressive of the
two initially as he smashed a few boundaries before Pietersen also joined him
with a flurry of strokes. They completed their 50-run stand in just 46
balls.
Pietersen completed his 24th ODI
half century by guiding a Raina delivery to the third man boundary, before
opening up to play some glorious shots on both sides of the wicket.